BSN Nursing Program
The Park University family has a rich history of student service, integrity, and commitment. The nursing team is committed to partnering with you while you achieve your professional nursing goals through our pre-licensure BSN program.
The BSN nursing program’s design combines the best of Park University’s Liberal Arts, Humanities, and Sciences to prepare students for their nursing courses. Emphasis is placed on safe, patient centered, and evidence based care that will be practiced in dynamic clinical and simulation settings.
BSN pre-licensure program nursing faculty members are experts in their fields. The faculty within the nursing department are highly qualified Nurse Educators who enjoy teaching and student engagement. They are gifted in preparing students for success. University life is much more than just coming to the classroom and clinical.
There are many resources available to support your learning, co-curricular growth, and professional goals. BSN pre-licensure students from around the world enhance the environment and learning experience that is uniquely Park. As you wander through the campus over the next two years or engage with others online, watch and listen for the wide variety of cultures you will have an opportunity to be a part of. Please take full advantage of all it means to be a Park Pirate.
Location & Learning Options
- Parkville
Accreditations
The Ellen Finley Earhart Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program at Park University is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).
- Missouri State Board of Nursing, Full Approval
- HLC
Student Achievement
Come join our success! Learn more about the outcomes of nursing students.
Nursing Student Handbook
Nursing Department
Mission
The mission of the Department of Nursing is to educate students through teaching excellence to provide quality care; engage in the nursing profession as a lifelong learners and scholars; and practice to the full extent of their nursing education in dynamic environments.
Vision
The Vision of the Department of Nursing is to educate nurses who will excel in the nursing profession.
Core Values
- Safety, Quality Care
- Teaching Excellence
- Professionalism
- Inter-Professional Collaboration
- Health Promotion
The first nursing program offered by the Park University Department of Nursing was an Associate of Science degree. This ASN program was the first program in Missouri to provide direct articulation between nursing schools without additional prerequisite courses or repeated courses for LPNs. The program design provided educational upward mobility and career advancement opportunities for Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs), including the foundation to pursue a baccalaureate degree or other advanced educational opportunities in nursing.
The first class of 35 students was admitted to the Department of Nursing on the Parkville Campus in August 1987. In 1994, the Department of Nursing was granted full accreditation by the National League for Nursing Accreditation Commission – now known as the Accreditation Commission for Nursing Education (ACNE). Later that year the department was named the Ellen Finley Earhart Nursing Program in honor of a nurse benefactor who completed her Park College education in 1919. Park’s final ASN class graduated in May 2017.
In 2012, the first students of the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program RN-BSN Online option were admitted. The Bachelor of Science in Nursing, RN-BSN option provides a career mobility path for the Associate Degree RN (ADN-RN) to continue their nursing education. This program gives students an opportunity to expand their nursing knowledge and customize their plan of study in the arts, sciences and humanities to fit their personal interests to achieve their goal of obtaining their Bachelors of Science in Nursing (BSN).
Increasing calls to the University requesting a Traditional (pre-licensure) BSN instigated a study looking at the feasibility and need for such a program. On August 21, 2014, the Park University Board of Trustees approved the plan to implement a BSN pre-licensure program option on the Parkville Campus.
In March 2015, a petition for the development of the BSN pre-licensure program was accepted by the Missouri State Board of Nursing. The program proposal was submitted to the MSBN in May 2015. Pre-nursing student demand in the spring of 2014 supported the decision to make the pre-nursing study plan available in January 2015. The BSN traditional program option admitted its first students in the fall of 2016 after receiving initial MSBN approval in November 2015, and the site visit in July 2016.
During the summer of 2015, the Ellen Finley Department of Nursing moved to a brand new academic space located in the Academic Underground on the Parkville Campus. The new space, 40,000 square feet, includes 2 state-of-the-art simulation labs, expanded high fidelity simulation equipment with video capabilities, assessment lab, fundamentals lab, 11 classrooms (seven seating 50, one seating 70 and three seating 30), computer lab, student gathering spaces, and faculty/department offices. The new academic space demonstrates Park’s commitment to nursing and providing students with learning opportunities reflecting the dynamic health care environment and patient care needs.
Apply to our Pre-licensure BSN program
Search for Park University and begin filling out your application!
Come join our success! Park’s NCLEX Pass Rates are consistently higher than the Missouri & national averages.
Park Promise
The “Park Promise” is a commitment that Park University will pay for a student’s NCLEX examination fee (RN exam – approximately $200) if a student achieves faculty clearance prior to taking the exam.* This means our faculty are fully engaged in helping you succeed!
Application process
STEP ONE – Submit an application to Park University.
In addition to completing the NursingCAS application, you must submit an application to Park University if you are not a current Park University student. Acceptance into the BSN program denotes acceptance to Park University as well. The following is the direct link to the Park University Application.
STEP TWO – Complete your NursingCAS Application.
- Transcripts – Official Transcripts from any institution ever attended must be sent directly to NursingCAS from your college or university’s Registrar’s office.
- Request at least (3) References.
- Complete TEAS Testing & upload your score report.
STEP THREE – TEAS Admission Testing is required for ALL applicants.
- The minimum score required for entrance is 58.7%
- You may only retake the exam one time – there must be 4 weeks between your attempts.
- There is a fee to take the TEAS.
- Testing can be taken at ATItesting.com.
STEP FOUR – Submit your NursingCAS Application.
Application Deadlines
- Fall 1/15 – 4/30
- Spring 8/10 – 12/1
STEP FIVE – Interview.
If granted an interview, you will be scored based on your GPA, TEAS, etc.
*If selected for an interview, you will receive points based on your interview in addition to your TEAS score, GPA, experience and/or volunteer work in healthcare, community volunteer work, Military background, Park University attendance, and if you attended any nursing or health professional training in high school or otherwise.
Dr. Jennine Wilson Ed.D., MSN, RN-Ped-BC
Department Chair
Assistant Professor of Nursing
jwilson@park.edu
BSN Nursing Program Highlights
Park University’s BSN nursing program educates future nurses using the latest innovations in nursing education. We offer affordable tuition and flexible scheduling for BSN nursing program prerequisite courses on the Parkville campus. Our BSN pre-licensure option offers simulation laboratories equipped with state-of-the-art human patient simulators that reflect nursing practice in the field. Our faculty-to-student ratio of 6 to 1 ensures personalized instruction in the clinical environment. We have multiple affiliations with hospitals and medical facilities throughout the Greater Kansas City area. Our pre-licensure BSN program graduates are recruited by hospitals and health care facilities and a majority have job offers prior to graduation.
We pledge our support to help you succeed.
Nursing Career opportunities
- Registered Nurse
- Nurse Manager
- Clinical Researcher
- Staff Nurse
- Charge Nurse
